By Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Needham’s first Poet Laureate, Anne E. G. Nydam, discussed the goals of her town position and previewed her new book, “Bitter-Sweetness and Light: A Collection of Stories, Poems, and Art,” at the Needham Free Public Library.
Nydam was appointed in December 2024 as Poet Laureate of the Town of Needham, after submitting a resume and selection of her poems and articulating her vision for the position. The post is meant to last one year, but, since Nydam is the first appointee, her term will be a half-year longer to include time to establish the position and a list of engagements. She will serve until July 2026.
Nydam expects to be quite busy this spring making visits to several schools and to the Center for the Heights. She will also write a poem for the town. At the NFPL event on February 25, she was asked by an audience member to write a Haiku for the First Parish in Needham Unitarian Universalist’s new poetry path to be established this year.
Nydam explained that, as she first began writing poetry in her youth, her subject matter was very different from other poets’. While others focused on “suffering, angst, and violence, the subject of her work was sweetness, light, beauty, hope, joy.” She wasn’t considered a “serious” poet, since she didn’t deal with heavy subjects, but, as she noted, she is “serious about joy” and she considers that “acknowledging joy is an act of fierce defiance.”
Nydam believes that while “our brains are “hardwired to pay more attention to the negative than the good, it is not irreversible.” In her new book, Nydam wanted to convey that the “narrative of catastrophe is not the whole story.” She “wanted her book to give reasons for hope.”
In her clever piece, “Some Assembly Required,” Nydam included a series of numbered steps to take in building a fantastical Luftslott Castle in the Air. Each step was accompanied by a detailed art piece illustrating it. She discussed several essential building materials, such as inspirations, memories, fantasies, dreams, and hopes.
In her funny and imaginative short story, “Love Potion,” Nydam told the story of a slimy and opinionated shop opener who helped a customer looking for the titular elixir. The frustrated customer reacted with “I thought you were a salesman, not a life coach!”
In her fantasy poem, “Knitting,” Nydam introduced the main character of a witch knitting magically on a porch. The witch used materials such as morning bird songs, silvery gauze, and ephemeral orbits, to construct thick mittens.
The audience at NFPL was delighted with the art and poetry and story excerpts Nydam shared. You can see more information about Nydam’s work and schedule of appearances at nydamprints.com.
